He didn't have to turn the hair dryer on but Steve Evans revealed there were "strong words" in the Stevenage dressing room before they turned it round at King's Lynn Town.

League Two Boro had gone into the break drawing 0-0 with their National League North hosts and lacking quality in all areas of the pitch, especially the final third.

But all that changed in the opening nine minutes of the second period with two goals from Luke Norris and one for Jamie Reid giving them a 3-0 win.

Evans said: "We were poor first half, everything we did was poor. 

"It’s fair to say I was strong at half-time, not shouting or anything like that, but it was strong words. 

"I asked for a response and we left the team the same despite going in at half-time thinking we’d make two or three changes. 

"But you know when I’ve said this dressing room is full of men, full of passion and commitment, we demonstrated that with three goals in five minutes. 

"And we probably should have score more in the second half as well. 

"But again, we’d challenged them as a group and they stood up and delivered." 

They were expecting a battle against a Linnets side who had beaten Doncaster Rovers on their own patch comfortably in round one.

The Boro boss said: "We came to a difficult venue to play a team that beat Doncaster very easily only a few weeks ago.

"Half-time came at the wrong time for them and when you’re not as fit, you can struggle to get going again. 

"And we capitalised on that and showed our quality in the second half. 

"The goals are tremendous, Luke’s two in particular. 

"He passes the first one into the corner with real aplomb and the second he meets a sensational ball in from Luther James-Wildin with a great finish. 

"Jamie Reid’s goal will be in contention for the goal of the round because it was fantastic. 

"He’s turned the player, he’s opened himself up and he’s put it where no goalkeeper in the world, including those at the World Cup, save it. 

"We’re pleased but we won’t get carried away. 

"We’ll look at the draw with interest and we’ll see what it brings."

There were a couple of worries for the Stevenage side with an injury Terence Vancooten off and Dan Sweeney also in trouble as the first half came to a close.

Evans said: "Terence felt his Achiles a little bit and felt if he took a few more strides, it could have been a problem.

"Dan just rolled his ankle and he is the type of kid who doesn’t sit on the grass if there is not a problem. 

"So we thought there was a problem coming, especially after Terence, but he said he had just rolled it and I thought he was outstanding. 

"Some of his aggression dealt with a big striker who gives a lot of teams problems. 

"We were much better defensively, we dealt with their problems much better. 

"Carl Piergianni was off it in the first half but when you get into his personality, he stands up like a true warrior. 

"All the back four were good."

But, like any football fan, the boss cannot help but think about what might be when the draw is made on Monday evening.

"The win gives the supporters the opportunity to dream before the draw," said Evans.

"We know we could get a club in our league or below us away, and get beat, but who’s to say we don’t draw a big one and give our supporters a wonderful day. 

"Until the draw, we can dream about what might be in the FA Cup."